


I Don't Deserve This

by Boom_Chris



Category: Marvel, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Death, I will update the tags as I write more, M/M, Mental Illness, Mentions of Rape, Mentions of Suicide, Mentions of alcohol/alcoholism, Stony - Freeform, Superfamily, Superhusbands, mentions of abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-24
Updated: 2017-12-23
Packaged: 2018-06-04 04:12:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6640981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Boom_Chris/pseuds/Boom_Chris
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Good things didn't happen to Peter Parker.</p><p>After the death of his parents, Aunt, Uncle, and best friend, Peter was convinced all he did was cause death and he'd never experience happiness ever again. Peter accepted that his life would always be full of sorrow, but of course, life threw him another curveball.</p><p>And that curveball was Steve and Tony Rogers-Stark.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Poor Peter

**Author's Note:**

> So this chapter is basically a summary of Peter's life before he gets adopted. Sorry it's so sad. The rest of the chapters probably won't be this long either.

Good things didn’t happen to Peter Parker.

Well, at least not much good happened to him after his 5th birthday. That was the day his life went to shit, and except for a few short moments the universe granted him, Peter knew he’d never feel happiness again.

Peter had few memories of his parents and his life before their death, but they were all good memories. He remembered a big house, lots of toys, and loving parents, who were scientists. His favorite memories of parents were when they brought him to their lab. He didn’t remember what his parents were working on, he could only remember crawling around, playing with toys, and one memory with a spider.

 

* * *

 

He was crawling around on the floor of his parents’ lab. He was about 3 years old at the time. His parents were running around the lab like they were looking for something, completely forgetting about Peter who was on the floor.

Peter eventually crawled under one of the tables in the lab, then froze when he saw a bright-colored spider on the ground in front of him. Peter wasn’t fond of spiders, but he wasn’t scared of them. He decided he would go crawl somewhere, but the spider had other plans. Before Peter could crawl out from under the table, the spider crawled up his arm. He shook his arm in an attempt to get the spider off of him, and that’s when the spider bit him.

Peter screamed and started crying. The spider crawled away and his parents quickly got him out from under the table. His father held him while he assumed his mother went to go kill the spider.

Once Peter calmed down, they set him on a chair. He saw them whispering in the corner. He couldn’t remember what they were talking about, but he saw the worried looks on their faces. He looked at the spider bite on his arm, now covered by a bandage. He didn’t think the bite was a big deal, besides the fact that it really hurt.

One day he would truly understand what actually happened to him.

 

* * *

 

The last time Peter saw his parents was on the morning of his 5th birthday. They dropped him off at his Aunt May and Uncle Ben’s house. They kissed him on the cheek and promised they’d all celebrate his birthday after the came home from work.

Only they never came back.

They got in their car, waved goodbye, and drove off. Later that night, when the police showed up on his Aunt and Uncle’s doorstep, he learned they were murdered in their lab. Peter remembers that day vividly and it still haunts him. He remembers hiding in a coat closet and crying all night. He didn’t understand why anyone would want to take his parents away from him, why anyone would want to hurt him. He didn’t stop crying for days, and when he eventually did, his Aunt took him back to his home to grab some of his things.

“Why?” he asked extremely confused.

His Aunt sighed, “You’re going to live with your Uncle and me now. We’ve adopted you.”

As soon as they entered his house, Peter began sobbing again. His Aunt held him in her arms until he calmed down.

“Why? Why are they gone? I want them back! Aunt May, bring them back!” he screamed.

“I’m sorry, Peter. I can’t bring them back. I wish I could, but I just can’t.”

Peter cried for a bit longer. He eventually broke away from his Aunt’s arms and silently walked up to his bedroom. They gathered his things and took a few of his parents’ things. They managed to make it home without another breakdown from Peter.

A few months after living with his Aunt and Uncle, Peter started school. He excelled in class, but he didn’t make any friends. After his teacher talked to his Uncle and Aunt about his antisocial behavior, and they decided to take Peter to a psychiatrist. He was diagnosed with depression, and given medicine to help him.

Peter didn’t want friends though. He wanted to be to himself. His parents’ death made him wary of forming new relationships with people because of the possibility he could lose them too. He went through kindergarten, and 1st grade without making any friends. Before he started 2nd grade though, his Aunt made him promise to make at least one new friend. He couldn’t say no to the look on her face so he agreed.

The first day of school he said hello to the girl sitting next to him in class. She had long blonde hair and a pretty smile.

“Hello there. I’m Peter Parker.”

“Hi. I’m Gwen Stacy,” she smiled and stuck out her hand for him to shake. He reached out and shook her hand.

“Are you new here?” he questioned.

“Yeah. I moved here over the summer. I’ve had trouble making friends so far,” she said the last part quietly.

“So have I, but I’ve always lived here.”

“Well, will you be my friend, Peter Parker?” She gave him a hopeful smile.

He smiled back, “Sure.”

He fulfilled his Aunt’s wish. He made a friend. Peter expected to just talk to the girl in class so she wasn’t lonely, but over the course of the year, he actually began to like Gwen and they eventually became best friends. From that point on, they were inseparable.

For Peter’s 8th birthday, he invited Gwen over to his house. He hadn’t celebrated his birthday since his parents’ death, but this year he actually wanted to. He felt like he could actually be as happy as he had been before their death.

So Peter woke up early on his birthday. He helped his Aunt and Uncle clean the house and get the party ready. It wasn’t much of party, but Peter didn’t mind. All he wanted was to have a good day with his Aunt, Uncle, and Gwen.

Sometime in the afternoon, Gwen knocked on his front door. She had a present in her hands. Peter let her inside and they ran off to go play his bedroom.

“Behave you two!” they heard his Aunt call after them. They giggled while running upstairs.

First he opened her gift. It was a friendship bracelet that matched the she was wearing.

“I promise I’ll never take it off!” he declared. She giggled.

Then they started to play games. They had been playing hide-and-go-seek for about an hour when they both heard multiple gunshots being fired downstairs. He ran to Gwen and hugged her until he heard them stop. They were both crying as they walked down the stairs.

“Aunt May? Uncle Ben?” he called out for them. He didn’t get a response.

He grabbed Gwen’s hand and they walked into the livingroom. She screamed and Peter fell to his knees and began sobbing. His Aunt and Uncle were lying dead, and bloody on the floor. Gwen dropped down on her knees and hugged Peter. They both cried until police showed up. Someone had called the cops for them.

The police told Peter to get a bag of his things, and when he did, he drove Peter and Gwen over to Gwen’s house. They both sat silent on the couch while the police explained what happened to Gwen’s parents.

Peter felt numb. First his parents died on his 5th birthday, and now his Aunt and Uncle died on his 8th birthday. Peter wanted to die himself. He couldn’t handle the sorrow that filled his body. Suddenly he feared for Gwen’s life.

“I don’t want to lose you, too,” he sobbed while he hugged her. She hugged him back.

“You won’t lose me. I promise. I’m safe and so are you.”

Peter believed her, he really did. Unfortunately, he would find out later that Gwen broke her promise.

The next day Peter was put into a foster home. Some man in a suit with a friendly smile, named Alex, explained to him what a foster home was while he drove him there. Peter stayed silent. He didn’t want to go to a foster home. He wanted to stay with Gwen and hug her forever.

4 people greeted Peter once he entered the house. There was a mom, a dad, and two other boys, they both seemed shy. Peter tried his best to be polite despite the fact he didn’t like people, well except for Gwen. Alex made sure he was settled in and then left. Things took a big turn once he left. His foster father yelled at him to come to the kitchen. He walked in and sat down on the chair across from him.

“Listen up, you little asshole,” Peter was shocked by the words coming out of his mouth, “You do as I say. You do the chores I tell you to do. You don’t speak unless I say you can. If you don’t follow my rules, prepare to be punished. Do you understand me?”

Peter was very intimidated by him. He nodded.

“Good. Now go somewhere I can’t see you and don’t make a lot of noise.” His voice sounded threatening. Peter wondered why Alex had brought him when he clearly wasn’t wanted.

Things didn’t go so well for Peter in that house. He accidentally broke a lot of rules, resulting in him getting hit a lot. He became even less fond of people. Peter also started having nightmares after the death of his Aunt and Uncle. Sometimes he’d wake up screaming in the middle of the night, which would result in more punishment. He would only ever tell Gwen about what happened in the house though. He didn’t trust anyone else.

After about a month, his foster family wanted him gone. Peter was happy to leave, only he wasn’t aware that if he were kicked out of this house, he’d just end up in another one.

The parents in the next house were just as bad as the first, but the kids were a lot nicer to him. The oldest kid there was 16. He gave Peter a lot of advice even though Peter barely spoke to him. One day he sat down on Peter’s bed and sighed.

“Look, I know you’re antisocial, but Peter, if you want to get adopted, you’ll have to talk to people and appear more friendly. People don’t want kids who barely speak to anyone.”

“I talk to people,” he weakly argued.

“I’m just trying to help you out. I don’t want you to end up like me. Once you get to be my age, no one wants to adopt you. I want you to be happy and have a family.”

“I had a family…” he whispered.

He got no response, just a sad smile.

He would get kicked out of that house too after about 3 months. They couldn’t handle Peter’s nightmares, and Peter was sent off to another home.

The third house is where Peter lost his innocence.

This new family seemed nice at first. They didn’t have strict rules like the first 2 houses did, which Peter liked. He thought he would be fine staying in this house. At least he thought that until nighttime. Once it turned night, his new foster father snuck into his bed, and stole Peter’s innocence.

Peter didn’t sleep that night. He lied away sobbing and wanting to die. He couldn’t bring himself to go to school in the morning even though Gwen was there. He hid under his bed when his foster parents came looking for him.

Peter stayed in that house until the summer started. Peter wished he could forget what happened in that house, but he knew he never would. He was glad to leave.

After that house, the abuse or anything else Peter received was nothing new. He coped the best he could. He switched foster house every few months, he got to know Alex pretty well because of that. No one wanted to deal with Peter’s nightmares and growing rebellious attitude. He completely forgot the advice he received from his old foster brother in the second house. Peter didn’t want a family. All he needed and wanted was Gwen.

By his 14th birthday, Peter had been through nearly 60 foster homes. He was used to moving a lot. It's not like he cared where he went as long as he could still go to school with Gwen. A couple of times his foster homes were too far away from his school so he had to switch. Peter would make his foster families hate him to the point where they wanted him gone immediately. A couple times he’d get pretty bad beating for acting that way, but there was no way in hell Peter would give up Gwen. He loved her and she was all he had.

For her 14th birthday, which was about a month after Peter’s, Gwen wanted him to celebrate with her. He didn’t really like the thought of it at first. He pictured lots of people, he hated being social, and he remembered the past two birthday parties he had. Both ending in murder. He finally agreed after Gwen promised it would just be them and that they’d be safe.

“You’ve got nothing to worry about, Peter. My dad’s a cop. We’ll be safe.”

That calmed him down enough for him to be excited for the party. Peter went over to Gwen’s house, and they spent the whole day together, fooling around, playing games, and they even had cake. Gwen had convinced her parents to let Peter sleepover, so once it became dark out, Gwen’s dad told them they needed to go to bed. Gwen laid down in her bed and Peter got inside his sleeping bag.

“Hey Pete, you still awake?” Gwen called out.

“Yeah. What’s up?” he responded looking up towards her bed.

“I just wanted to say that I love you, Peter. I’m glad you’re my best friend.”

“I love you too, Gwen. You’re my everything.”

He saw her sit up on her bed. He sat up too.

“I promise I’ll always be here for you. I’m never leaving you.”

He got up and hugged her tightly. “Thank you, so, so much Gwen.”

They both laid back down. Peter had begun to doze off when he heard a weird noise. He sat up and looked around the room. He noticed the window was open and he panicked. Suddenly a hand covered his mouth before he could scream.

“Keep quiet or we kill her,” he heard a deep voice tell him.

Peter couldn’t control his panic. He thrashed around and accidentally kicked Gwen’s bed. She slowly woke up. Once she realized what was going on, a man stood beside her with a gun to her head. Peter tried to scream.

“Both of you keep quiet or she’ll die,” the man with a gun threatened them.

Gwen looked horrified but kept her mouth shut. The men dragged Peter to the window. One climbed through, the other tossed Peter out of it. He was grabbed again, and the other man hopped out. He was then gagged and dragged to a van. Suddenly he heard Gwen’s voice shouting for her father. One of the men grabbed his gun and walked back towards the house. Peter started sobbing. He would’ve begged them to stop if he could speak.

He heard the gun go off just once. He squeezed his eyes shut and sobbed harder. He prayed this was just a nightmare, but it wasn’t.

When Peter was dragged out of the van, he was taken into a lab. He recognized it. It was his parents’ old lab. He was strapped down to a table. He felt a needle go into his arm, and then he felt sleepy. When he woke up, he was on the porch of Gwen Stacy’s house. Gwen’s dad found him and asked him what happened. All Peter could think about was Gwen.

All the people he ever loved in his life died, and Peter was convinced it was all his fault. He was dangerous to be around. He only brought death and suffering. He ran away from Gwen’s house. He couldn’t bare being in there any longer. He ran all the way home. Later the police showed up to talk to him. They all had sad looks on their faces because they knew this was the third time he was part of a murder case.

His foster parents wanted him gone after the police came, thinking he would cause them more trouble in the future. Peter didn’t care. He was filled with sorrow and convinced he’d never be happy again. It’s not like he even deserved to be happy anyway. The universe gave him 3 clear examples of this.

The next foster home he went to was decent. Peter didn’t seem to notice. He spent all day in bed and refused to talk to anyone. One day, after being in that house for a week, he found his foster parents’ alcohol stash. And that’s when Peter started drinking to rid him of his pain. He switched foster homes almost 20 times that year because he’d been caught drinking. Peter didn’t care, he wouldn’t stop drinking. When he drank, he forgot about his parents, Aunt, Uncle, and Gwen.

By the time he turned 15, Peter nearly died from alcohol poisoning twice, and tried to kill himself 7 times. When he couldn’t get alcohol, Peter became extremely depressed, he couldn’t bare thinking about all the death he caused so he tried to permanently end his suffering. Of course since the universe hated him, he survived every attempt.

Once Peter had started high school, he stopped drinking as much. He felt numb and focused all his energy on school instead of the deaths he caused. Now he just drank for fun.

Life was pretty much boring and routine for Peter. He still had nightmares and some days where he did need to drink the pain away or else he would hurt himself, but mostly it was just the same. Going to school, and switching foster homes every few months. He also figured at this point, since he was 15, he wasn’t going to be adopted. He was fine with that, he didn’t want to be adopted anyway. He would only end up disappointing whoever thought they wanted him. Plus Peter vowed to himself, he would never let himself love anyone ever again. He couldn’t be responsible for another death.

So Peter had his life figured out, but, like always, life threw him a curveball.

And that curveball was Steve and Tony Rogers-Stark.


	2. A Chance For Happiness

Steve and Tony have been married for 3 years now and they loved every second of it. They were in love, they had a huge family, which were the rest of the Avengers, and their lives were great. Their lives were great, and Steve wanted to share that with someone else. He wanted a kid.

“Tony, babe? Can I talk to you?” Steve asked as he entered Tony’s lab. Tony looked up from his work and saw the nervous look on Steve’s face. He got slightly worried.

“Is something wrong?” He walked over to husband and grabbed his hands.

“No, no. I just wanted to talk about something.”

Tony relaxed. “Alright. What’s up?”

“Well, I was thinking that maybe we should adopt a kid.”

Steve was nervous for Tony’s response. He had no clue if Tony even wanted a kid. Plus they’re superheroes, and Tony might think they wouldn’t be able to raise a child because of their jobs.

Tony looked slightly surprised. “You want a kid?”

“Well, yeah, but if you don’t want to we-”

Tony cut him off, “Of course I want a kid.”

Steve smiled. “That’s great! We’ll have to talk more about this tomorrow, but that’s great. I love you, Tony.”

Tony smiled at Steve excitement. “I love you, too.”

Steve kissed his husband before letting him get back to work. He was excited for what would soon happen.

For the next week, the couple researched the adoption process and eventually found a man named Alex who was going to help them adopt a kid. They went over to his office to begin the search. They started by talk about what kind of kid they wanted.

“Do you want a boy or girl?” Alex asked the couple.

“It doesn't matter,” Steve responded.

“Okay. Do you have a specific age you want?”

Tony responded this time, “Nope. That doesn't matter either.”

“Alright, well what does matter? What kind of kid do you want? I need to narrow it down somehow.”

“We wanted a kid that wouldn't likely get adopted by someone else, you know? Like a troubled kid or something,” Tony explained.

Alex’s face lit up. “I think I know the perfect kid. His name’s Peter, you’ll love him. Why don't you two come back tomorrow to meet him?”

“Sure. That sounds great. Thank you,” Steve said with a voice Tony knew was hiding most of his excitement.

Once they left the office, Steve grabbed Tony and hugged him.

“We might be meeting our son tomorrow!” Steve sounded like he might explode because he was so happy.

“I know. I'm both nervous and excited. Oh god, do you think we're ready to do this?” Tony suddenly began to panic. He knew he wanted to be a dad, but he wasn't sure if he was actually prepared to be one.

“Tony, honey, calm down. We’ll be fine. We’ll figure it out,” Steve tried to comfort him.

Tony took a deep breath and relaxed. “Yeah. You’re right. Sorry for freaking out there. This is new territory.”

“I know, but we’re gonna be great dads. We’ll love our son and everything will be perfect.”

Tony kissed Steve. “God, I love you.”

“I love you, too. Now let’s head home.”

They held hands as they left the building. They were both looking forward to tomorrow. They knew the next chapter of their life was about to start.

 

* * *

 

Whenever Alex showed up, Peter knew he was being kicked out. He sighed and said nothing when he saw Alex on the front porch of the foster home he’d been in for barely a week.

‘Hate me that much?’

He walked to his room and started packing his things. Alex walked in about a minute later.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“Packing. Duh.”

“You’re not moving, well not yet at least.”

Peter stood up. “What do you mean?”

“Surprise! I found a couple that wants to adopt you,” he told Peter with a smile, not knowing the news was the opposite of what Peter wanted.

He frowned. “No thanks,” he simply replied and flopped down onto his bed.

“Peter, this is a good thing. They’re a great couple, I think you’d really like them, plus it’s really hard to find people that wanted to adopt kids like you.”

“Kids like me? Do you mean kids that are fucked up, insane, and-”

Alex cut him off, “You know that’s not what I meant. Many couples want younger children rather than teenagers.”

“Whatever. I don’t want to be adopted so it doesn’t matter.”

“Peter, please stop torturing yourself. Let yourself be happy. Let yourself be a part of a family.”

Peter sat up and glared at Alex. “I don’t want a family! I’m better off one my own. Besides, it’s not like they’d want me after they met me…” His anger turned into sorrow.

“You don’t know that.”

“What did you tell them about me?”

“I haven’t told them anything.”

“What?! You can’t do that! Mental illness is a big red flag to people.”

“They don’t care about that, Peter. Come on. Will you please meet them? If you don’t agree to this, I might have to bring them down here to meet you.”

Peter groaned. There was no way he was getting out of this. “Alright. Fine I’ll meet them, if you give them my file before the meeting. If they still want me after that, then I’ll meet them.”

“Deal. I’ll pick you up after school tomorrow. See you later, Peter.” Alex waved goodbye and then left.

“What did I just agree to?”

 

* * *

 

Both Steve and Tony were nervous when they returned the next day. They wanted the meeting to go well, and they were both nervous and surprised when they entered Alex’s office and didn’t see anyone else in the room.

“What’s going on?” Steve questioned Alex.

“Well Peter has decided that you guys should look at his file before meeting him.”

“Why?” Tony asked confused as to why his file even mattered.

“Peter is very difficult. He’s against being adopted in the first place, I thought you two could possibly change his mind, but he’s convinced you wouldn’t want him after you knew who he really is.”

The couple exchanged a look.

“He doesn’t even want to be adopted?” Steve almost felt heartbroken. He hadn’t even met the kid yet, but he was still upset.

“You’ll read about it in the file, but he’s had a really rough childhood. He’s convinced he’ll kill anyone he loves.”

They were still confused, but they sat down to read the file. They were shocked to say the least.

His parents, Aunt, Uncle, and best friend were all murdered. Peter suffered from depression, anxiety, and PTSD. He also had an alcohol addiction. He had attempted suicide multiple times. This kid was just 15, but he had gone through way too much suffering.

“Wow. I don’t know what to say about all this,” Steve finally spoke.

“He might be difficult to take care of at times, but Peter’s a great kid. He’s smart, he’s kind, and I know once he gets a stable family, he’ll finally be able to let himself be happy and love again.”

Tony and Steve shared another look.

“I still want him, Steve.”

“I do, too, Tony.”

Alex smiled. “That’s great. I’ll go get him.”

And now the couple was alone.

“Hey, remember what you told me yesterday?” Tony asked, sensing Steve’s uneasiness about Peter’s background. “You told me that we’d figure this out and that there’s no need to worry.”

“I know. I just hope this all works out.”

“I have a feeling it will,” Tony responded and kissed Steve’s cheek.

 

* * *

 

Peter had been sitting in a separate room for over 30 minutes. He told himself not to care, but this was the closest he’s ever gotten to being adopted. He had the tiniest bit of hope deep down inside him that he would actually get adopted and finally be able to be happy. He knew that was nonsense though. Of course they wouldn’t want him after they saw his file.

The door opened and Alex walked in. He was ready leave, but that wasn't happening. He was shocked when Alex told him that they still wanted to meet him.

“Are you serious?” he asked, more shocked than he’d ever been in his life.

Someone wanted him. Even though he thought he was worthless, someone wanted him. It took him a few minutes to process this.

“You know they’re waiting for you. Come on.”

Alex brought him back to reality. As he followed Alex down to his office, he felt anxiety spread through his body. He stopped walking, he couldn’t breathe.

“I-I can’t do this!” he shouted and curled into a ball on the floor.

He couldn’t handle the rejection he knew he’d get. Good things didn’t happen to him. There was no way in hell some couple just wanted to adopt and love him. It was never that simple.

“Peter, please calm down. Everything is okay. Ignore whatever thoughts are in your head. They want you, they really do,” Alex tried to calm him.

“But what if I hurt them too?” Peter whispered so quietly Alex almost didn’t hear him.

“Peter, you’ve had a rough past. Things are different now. You can be happy. You won’t hurt them, trust me. You just need to let yourself be happy.”

Peter stayed on the floor until he calmed down. He wiped the tears off his face, he didn’t even realise he’d been crying.

“Now get off the ground, go in there, and give yourself a chance to be happy.”

Peter stood up and took a deep breath, then he walked down the hall to Alex’s office door. He placed his hand on the doorknob and hesitated.

‘How can I be sure I won’t hurt them?’

He looked back towards Alex. He said things were different now. Peter wished he could fully believe him, but he didn't. Though, being the idiot he was, he decided to take a chance anyway. He turned back to the door.

‘Just let myself be happy.’

Then he opened the door, and changed his life.


	3. Warming Up To The Idea

Peter walked into the room and nearly fainted. Iron Man and Captain America were sitting there. They were two people Peter had always looked up to, and now they were here, wanting to adopt him.

He stood frozen in the doorway for a minute, fighting off another anxiety attack. The couple turned towards him and saw the panicked look on his face.

“Hey, relax. There's no need to be nervous around us,” Tony tried to comfort him.

Peter gripped the doorknob tightly. He was still panicking and Tony Stark deciding to talk to him didn't help.

Alex came up behind Peter and put his hand on Peter’s shoulder. He jumped, not expecting to be touched.

“Peter, I know you're freaking out right now, but I need to you to take a deep breath and calm down. You're fine,” Alex told him.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm himself. He would still be anxious, but at least now he wasn't panicking.

He apologized for freaking out and then sat down across from the couple.

“No need to apologize. We understand,” Steve responded giving Peter a warm smile.

Peter was surprised that after reading his file and experiencing Peter mid-anxiety attack, they still seemed eager to meet him. That tiny shred of hope he had grew. That was dangerous for Peter, but he couldn't help it.

Steve and Tony started asking Peter questions about himself. He mostly gave short, quiet responses, but occasionally they'd ask him something and he would ramble on for minutes, apologizing afterward. They reassured him that it was fine every time though.

The longer they talked to Peter, the more they wanted him. He was so much like the both of them. Smart, kind, and brave. They wanted him to be a part of their family so much.

Eventually Steve couldn't resist asking, “Peter, do you want us to adopt you?”

He was hopeful. Peter seemed to like them beyond the fact that they were heroes that he looked up to.

Peter frowned. He saw how hopeful they both were. He didn't want to disappoint them, but he couldn't let them adopt him. It was too dangerous. He shook his head.

“I’m sorry…”

He couldn't look at their faces. He knew they'd be upset. He heard Tony shift in his seat.

“Hey kid,” he looked up at Tony, “ we know what happened, and you should know that will never happen again.”

“How do you know? If it weren't for me, they'd all be alive!” Peter shouted at Tony, tears filling his eyes.

“You can't blame yourself, Peter,” Steve responded and placed his hand on Peter's shoulder.

“It is my fault! They all died because of me!” He started sobbing.

Steve and Tony both got up and hugged him. Peter usually didn't like unwanted hugs, but this time they actually felt somewhat comforting.

“It's not your fault. You didn't kill them. Some messed up people out there did. They are to blame, not you,” Steve tried to comfort him.

He didn't have the energy to disagree with Steve. He just continued to cry. He missed his family and Gwen. Steve and Tony still held him as he cried. He was still amazed that they hadn't left yet. This was his third breakdown today.

Peter eventually stopped crying. He realized that he had been crying on Tony’s shoulder and at some point he started hugging them back. He let go of them, slightly embarrassed, and wiped his face.

“I'm sorry,” he apologized again.

They both sat back down in their chairs, and reminded him that he didn't need to apologize.

“Peter, we really want to adopt you. Please consider it,” Steve sounded like he would start begging soon.

Peter sighed. As much as he'd love to scream yes, he couldn't shake his past memories. Tony seemed to sense Peter was going to shoot them down again, so he didn't let Peter respond.

“What if you come and visit the tower for day? You could meet everyone, I'll show you my lab, and we could show you your room.”

Peter was surprised that they already had a room for him.

‘Wow. They really want me.’

He looked over at Alex like he was asking for permission.

“If you want to spend a night there, then I'm not against it. Anything to convince you.”

Peter hesitantly agreed. He knew he'd never want to leave once he got there, but he agreed because it would make them happy, and he still had that tiny piece of hope inside him.

Steve grabbed Tony’s hand and smiled. He was glad that Peter agreed. He was worried that they wouldn't be able to convince him, but he was actually giving them a chance.

“So how about we pick you up tomorrow morning?” Tony asked Peter.

He nodded. Tony smiled and Steve knew he was planning the day in head already.

Steve and Tony eventually said goodbye to Peter, and headed back home. Neither of them could stop smiling. Steve wrapped his arms around his husband.

“Do you think this will be enough to convince him?” Steve asked.

“I have no clue. He's very stubborn, but I could tell he was really considering this. We just need to show him that he's not a danger.”

Tony kissed Steve’s cheek and pulled out of his embrace.

“Alright, let's go tell the others, Cap.”

 

* * *

 

Peter sat nervously on the front porch of his foster home. He was waiting for Steve and Tony to come pick him up, and getting lost in his thoughts.

Peter was scared that he would never want to leave once he went there. He knew it was dangerous. He couldn't risk the safety of Steve or Tony, or any of the other Avengers either.

When they would ask again if he wants them to adopt him, he would have to say no. It would be painful, but he had to do it. Peter frowned.

‘How did I even end up in this situation?’

He looked up when he heard a car. He saw Tony and Steve walking towards him. They both looked happy. He stood up and shyly greeted them.

“Ready to go, kid?” Tony asked him.

“Sure,” he said quietly.

He picked up his bag and got in their car. He wasn't surprised that it was very expensive. Tony Stark was a billionaire after all.

They tried to start conversations with him, but Peter was trying to say as little as possible. He didn't want them to become more attached than they already seem to be.

Eventually they arrived at the Avengers Tower. He stared in amazement at the building. It looked so much more impressive up close.

“It looks a lot cooler inside,” Tony teased.

Peter smiled and followed them inside. “Wow, Tony was right.” He heard Tony chuckle.

He followed them to the elevator, and once he was inside, he began questioning Tony on what they did at the tower.

“Well, we’ll give you a full tour later, but we have the living areas at the top of the tower, then we have training areas, I have my lab…” Tony continued on until they reached the top floor. The other Avengers were there, but they were fighting over something, it looked like a tv remote, so they didn't notice Tony, Steve, and Peter’s presence.

“This is where everyone hangs out, as you can see, they are a bit wild,” Steve chuckled.

“Would you guys calm down? We have a guest,” Tony shouted towards them.

They all froze, except for Natasha who took this opportunity to grab the remote, then she hopped onto the couch with a smile.

“Damn it, Natasha!” Clint whined.

“Is this Peter?” Thor asked, ignoring Clint.

“Yes, and Peter, this is Thor,” Steve said while Thor walked over to greet him.

“Nice to meet you, Peter!” Thor shook his hand before headed back over to the couch.

“That is Bruce,” Steve continued and Bruce waved to him. “That's Clint, and that's Natasha.” Clint was still pouting, but Natasha waved.

“They're crazy, but you’ll get used to it,” Tony told him with a smile, “Alright, let's show you your room.”

Peter was amazed he survived meeting the other Avengers. He followed Tony and Steve down the hall. There were plenty of rooms, and he wondered what they were for.

“We live on this floor and the others live on a different floor, but they still hang out here despite the fact I gave them their own tv down there,” Tony shook his head.

“Anyway, here's your room,” Steve said as they stopped in front of a door.

He slowly opened the door and walked into the huge room. He looked around in awe. There was a big bed, a desk with a computer that was no doubt made by Tony, a flat screen tv on the wall, and a book shelf filled with tons of books.

“Do you like it?” Steve asked after a minute of silence.

“I love it. This is amazing. Thank you,” he responded as he turned back around and quickly hugged them. They both smiled at him.

This room was better than any of the ones he had in a foster home. Peter already didn't want to leave and he just arrived.

“Well, we will leave you alone for a bit. You can come find us when you want a tour. We also have some plans for after dinner,” Tony told him.

“So make yourself at home, and if you need anything, just ask,” Steve said before they left him.

Peter dropped his bag on the floor and hopped onto the bed. He looked up at the ceiling and smiled. This was the first time he felt happy in a long time.

‘Maybe being adopted wouldn't be so bad…’


	4. Family Fun

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delayed update. I try to update 1-2 times a week, but I just didn't have a lot of time this week.
> 
> Anyway, I've been getting nice comments from people, thank you for that, but I'd also like constructive criticism or suggestions if anyone has any.
> 
> Also I suck at chapter names sorry.

Later in the day, Steve and Tony gave Peter a tour of the tower. Peter was particularly interested in the labs. He and Tony had many long conversations about science and tech stuff while Steve sat and listened. He didn't really understand what they were talking about.

During one of the conversations they were having, Peter remembered looking over at Steve. He was smiling at Tony. Peter also noticed that Tony would look over to Steve occasionally and return his smiles.

Peter could definitely see they were in love. It was a very sweet moment.

After the tour, Peter felt like he could no longer tell them not to adopt him even if he tried. He loved the tower, he thought Steve and Tony would be great parents, and he actually felt pretty safe here.

 

* * *

 

For dinner, it was just Peter, Steve, and Tony. They told Peter that he would have a chance to hang out with the rest of the Avengers later.

By the time me they sat down to eat, Peter no longer felt nervous around them. He was too happy to worry about the consequences of getting too close to them, at least for now. He just wanted to enjoy the feeling of being part of family, even though they weren't really a family yet. It was something he hadn't felt for a long time.

“So how's school, kid?” Tony asked him.

“Fine, I guess. I get straight A’s.”

“Well, what about your friends? Do you do any sports or are you in any clubs?”

He frowned slightly. He hadn't ever had a friend besides Gwen.

“I don't have any friends, I don't do any sports, and I'm not in any clubs,” he responded simply.

“Well that's no fun,” Steve said.

“It's hard for me to talk to people and make friends. Gwen was the only friend I ever had…”

He looked down. He couldn't meet their eyes. A tear ran down his cheek, but he quickly wiped it away. He still missed her. He loved her so much.

“Hey. We don't have to talk about anything if it makes you uncomfortable,” Tony said softly.

He felt Tony put his arm on his shoulder. Peter sighed and looked back up at them. They looked worried. They looked like they really cared.

“I'm fine. I just wish she was still alive.”

Once they were certain he was fine, they went back to eating. There was awkward silence for a minute.

“Peter, have you ever wanted to fly in an Iron Man suit?” Tony questioned him with a mischievous grin.

Peter smiled. Who wouldn't want to fly in an Iron Man suit? Steve quickly shut down the idea, though.

“Tony, you are not letting him fly in one of your suits.”

“Why not? He wants to do it. Let us have a little bit of fun.”

“You're not letting our son go flying around the city. What if he gets hurt?”

Peter felt touched that Steve called him “their son”.

“He wouldn't get hurt. Plus, I would be flying with him.”

“Tony, I said no.”

Peter started to worry that their argument would escalate and he'd get in trouble for it. It's happened many times before. He sat silent and hoped they wouldn't get mad at him.

“Ugh. You never let me have fun.”

“I do it to protect you, Tony. It's not fun watching you get hurt.”

Tony sighed. They looked at each for a minute.

“I will get him in a suit one day, Rogers.”

Steve rolled his eyes, but he still smiled. Peter felt relieved.

“You okay, Peter?” Steve asked him after noticing he was a bit on edge.

“Uh, yeah. I'm fine. I just get worried when people start fighting. Bad things usually happen when people fight.”

Tony tried to reassure Peter, “Well no need to worry. We argue a lot, mostly because Steve is sometimes still stuck in the 40s,” Steve scoffed, “but it's just us bickering. That's what we do.”

He flashed an enthusiastic grin towards Steve. Steve shook his head, but couldn't resist smiling back.

 

* * *

 

After dinner, the other Avengers joined them for a movie night. Peter felt nervous because he was surrounded by so many strong and amazing people. He felt small and insignificant.

Steve and Tony sat on both sides of him on the couch. Natasha and Clint shared the love seat next to him. Thor and Bruce each sat on their own chairs.

“Well, what should we watch?” Tony asked.

“A horror movie!” Clint shouted with a smug grin.

Natasha slapped the side of Clint’s head. “One, there's a kid here. Two, horror movies suck.”

Bruce suggested sci-fi. Tony called him a nerd. Bruce just sighed and decided to let the other picks. Thor suggested something funny, but Clint shot that down.

Tony, Thor, and Clint continued to argue what they should watch. Peter could guess this was a normal experience based on Natasha’s reaction. She rolled her eyes then got up to get popcorn.

Peter hugged his knees to his chest. Steve looked over at him.

“You okay, Peter?” Steve asked him.

“I just feel a bit intimidated…”

“You don't have to. We may be superheroes to everyone, but really we're just normal people,” He paused and glanced at Tony and Clint, who were in a heated debate, “well, mostly normal people.”

Peter smiled slightly. He looked over at Tony, who was clearly done arguing with Clint.

“Fuck it,” Tony said.

“Tony! Language!” Steve warned him.

Peter tried to hide his laugh. Natasha walked back with popcorn.

“Pick anything yet?”

“Yeah. JARVIS play Big Hero 6,” Tony called out.

“Yes, sir.” JARVIS responded.

Peter was amazed he finally got to see JARVIS. Well not really see, but he really admired all of Tony’s inventions, especially his AI. He wondered if he could fool around with him later.

“Really? A Disney movie?” Bruce questioned.

“Disney movies are fun, at least the ones I've seen,” Thor responded.

“Yes, because one, it's _sci-fi_ ,” Tony looked over at Bruce, who rolled his eyes, “two, it's appropriate for our child, and three, I actually kinda like it.”

“Nerd!” Clint shouted while stealing some of Natasha’s popcorn.

Eventually everyone settled down and watched the movie. Peter felt relaxed now that everyone was focused on the movie. He also felt somewhat safe sitting between Steve and Tony.

“Tony? Couldn't you build a Baymax?” Thor asked him halfway through the movie. He seemed pretty attached to Baymax at this point.

“If I really wanted to, I could build anything,” He stated.

“Anything?” Clint asked in a challenging tone.

“Shut up and watch the movie,” Natasha stopped him from starting another argument.

“Do they always fight this much?” Peter whispered to Steve.

“They have their moments. Tony does pick fights with everyone though. I think he enjoys arguing.”

“I enjoy being right,” Tony corrected Steve.

By the end of the movie, Thor shed a few tears. Who knew he'd be the one to cry during a Disney movie?

After the movie, Peter talked to the other Avengers. He told them a little about himself. He was still a bit nervous so he didn't tell them much. They seemed to notice his nervousness and they broke off into their own conversations.

“Hey Peter,” Clint called out to him, “wanna play a game?”

Peter was hesitant. “What game?”

“Truth or dare.”

“What are you, in middle school?” Natasha asked him.

“No, but come on. It'll be fun,” he tried to convince them, “Here, Peter you can ask me first.”

“Uh, ok. Truth or dare?” Peter figured it couldn't be that bad.

“Truth!” Clint seemed to be very excited that Peter was playing with him.

He thought about what he should ask Clint. He didn't know him that well, so he figured he could just ask anything.

“Are you and Natasha dating?” The question had been lingering in the back of his head after seeing Natasha sit down on Clint’s lap.

“Well-” Clint tried to answer, but Natasha covered his mouth.

“No,” she simply stated and glared at Clint. Clint decided not argue after she uncovered his mouth.

Peter was pretty suspicious, but Natasha intimidated him so he just moved past it.

“Okay. Peter, truth or dare?” Clint asked him.

He knew he'd be asked something personal if he picked truth, so he went with dare and hoped Clint wouldn't humiliate him.

“Dare.”

Clint smiled mischievously. “Thor! Grab your hammer. Peter, I dare you to pick it up.”

“Isn't that impossible?” He thought he heard that only Thor could pick it up.

“Not impossible, just extremely unlikely,” Bruce told him.

Thor came back and set his hammer down on the coffee table in front of Peter. Peter felt everyone staring at him. He wished he could hide right now.

“Hey, if you can pick it up, you're basically a god, and, if you can't, well then you're like the rest of us,” Bruce pointed out to him.

Peter sighed and grabbed the handle. He tried to lift his arm. The hammer didn't budge. He gave up and sat back down.

“Damn… I guess you're just mortal,” Clint said, pretending to be surprised.

“Who's next then?” He looked around at everyone.

“I guess I'll be next,” Thor answered.

So they continued the game with everyone, even Natasha joined after insulting the game. While he watched, Peter learned that they all really liked to mess around with each other.

Repeatedly, Clint tried to get Bruce introduce “the big green guy” or “the jolly green giant” to Peter. Peter thought at one point, he would actually hulk out and punch Clint, but thankfully he didn't.

Tony also liked to team up with other people to embarrass Steve. When Natasha asked him “Truth or dare?”, he said dare and winked at her.

She smirked. “Alright. Who tops?”

Steve turned bright red, and tried to stop Tony from answering.

“Peter is right here! This is very inappropriate!”

Peter couldn't stop laughing, and neither could Tony.

“I think we have our answer,” Natasha teased.

Steve put on his Captain America face and ignored the team’s laughter.

By the end of the night, Peter felt a lot more comfortable around everyone, except he was the most comfortable around Steve and Tony, which would make sense. He spent the most time with them, and they might eventually become his parents.

Peter was tired and leaned against Tony's shoulder. He thought about whether or not he'd actually get to live with the Avengers.

‘What if this is just some fucked up dream?’

Steve put his hand on Peter’s shoulder. Peter looked towards him.

“You look tired. Let's get you to bed.”

Peter reluctantly got up. He would've been comfortable falling asleep on the couch, but he knew his bed would be much more comfortable.

Steve and Tony walked with him to his room. Peter headed straight for his bed.

“Don't you wanna put on pajamas or something?” Tony asked.

“Maybe once you leave.”

“Well, we just wanted to say goodnight to you. So, goodnight,” Steve said.

“Yeah. Goodnight, Peter,” Tony joined in.

It was a bit awkward, probably because they weren't sure what to do. Peter smiled, though. His parents would always say goodnight to him when he was a kid. He hadn't had that for a while.

He got up and hugged them both. He let go before he knew he would get emotional. They smiled at him.

“If you have any problems, you can come find us or just ask JARVIS for help. Alright?” Tony asked him.

Peter nodded. “Goodnight.”

After they left, he put on his pajamas, turned off the lights, and got into his bed.

‘Please don't let this be a dream.’ He wished in his head.

Then he fell asleep.


	5. Change

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry for not posting a new chapter in forever. I know, I suck. I'm sure you guys don't want to hear any excuses so here's your new chapter. I will try my best to post more often. Also sorry it's a bit short.

Peter didn't sleep long. Despite the fact that he felt safe in the tower, he was still plagued with nightmares and bad thoughts.

He sat up quickly. He had another nightmare about Gwen. He couldn't stop himself from sobbing. He kept reliving her death, and every time he wasn't able to stop it from happening. The guilt was killing him.

“Should I contact your fathers?” JARVIS asked suddenly.

Peter jumped. “N-no. Don't. I'll be fine. Just leave me alone.”

Peter didn't want to bother them. JARVIS didn't respond, so Peter assumed he wouldn't tell Steve or Tony.

He began to feel trapped in his room. He quickly hopped out of bed, and thought about where he could go.

Peter silently opened his door and stepped into the hall. It was very quiet, except he was pretty certain it was Tony who was snoring down the hall.

Peter continued to the living room. Not too long ago he was having fun with the Avengers. He still couldn't get over the fact he actually met the Avengers.

He headed over to the windows (Which was basically a wall of glass. Peter thought it was kinda stupid. Isn't your home supposed private?). He could see the entire city through them. It made him feel small, but watching the tiny lights on cars dart along the streets did help calm him.

Eventually, Peter sank to the floor. He sat and watched the city.

It would be a huge adjustment to live here, and it was now really sinking in for Peter. Being the child of billionaire Tony Stark meant he, too, would be a billionaire. Living with him meant living in a fancy penthouse on top of a building he owned. Not to mention, both of his parents would be superheroes. Fucking superheroes! How could he ever possibly live up to that?

Peter sighed and then rubbed his eyes. Once he reopened them, he noticed the sun beginning to rise. He sat there for most of the night.

“Ugh…” He groaned.

He decided he should head back to his room before Steve or Tony woke up. He didn't want to worry them.

He silently snuck back into his room and laid down on his bed. He glanced at the clock sitting on his night stand.

5:36 am.

He wondered if Steve and Tony would force him to get up early or would let him sleep in as long as he pleased. He hoped for the latter.

Peter rolled over and closed his eyes. He was going to try to get a bit of sleep.

 

* * *

 

Tony whined when suddenly his heat source slipped out of his arms.

“Steve, what are you doing?” He called out frustrated, his eyes still shut. He was determined to continue sleeping once he had his husband back in his arms.

“Getting up. We gotta spend time with Peter,” Steve said from across the room.

“Christ, Steve. He's a teen. I'm sure as hell he won't be up for at least a few more hours.”

Tony cracked one eyes open to check the time. It was barely 7 am.

“Well I have too much energy to go back to sleep. I have to do something.”

Tony smirked, “I know something you can do.”

Steve turned around and gave his husband a harsh look.

“We have a child in our house, Tony.”

“I can be quiet,” Tony flirted.

Steve sighed and shook his head.

“Fine. I will cuddle with you for a bit.”

Tony smiled and opened his arms, waiting for Steve to return to the bed. Steve laid down and Tony immediately clung to him.

“You sure we can't just-” Tony started.

Steve cut him off quickly, “No, Tony.”

“Ugh. Fine!”

Steve chuckled and kissed Tony's cheek before they cuddled in silence.

 

* * *

 

 Peter woke up a few hours later to the smell of food. He wandered over to the kitchen where he saw Steve cooking and Tony was sitting on the counter, playing with a tablet.

Steve saw him first and smiled.

“Good morning, Peter. Did you sleep well?”

Tony looked up from his tablet and greeted him as well.

“I slept fine,” he answered Steve.

He wasn't sure if he should help Steve or go do something else, so he stood there awkwardly watching both of them. Tony seemed to take notice.

“Hey kid, come check this out,” He called out and patted a spot on the counter next to him.

Peter sat down beside and looked at the screen. It showed blueprints for Tony's newest suit.

“What do you think? It's a new design I'm working on.”

Peter was amazed. “That’s awesome!” he gushed.

Tony smiled and handed the tablet to Peter so he could look at the suit more. He watched the teen fawn over his suit until Steve finished cooking.

“Okay, breakfast is ready. Put the tablet away Tony,” Steve commanded while he set down plates of food on the table.

“Bossy.” Tony stuck out his tongue and waited for Peter to hand the tablet back to him.

Peter chuckled and walked over to the table. During breakfast they made small talk, but once it was over, they had the conversation Peter was dreading.

“So, Peter, we need to talk about adopting you,” Steve stated.

Peter wasn't sure what to say at this point. He couldn't bring himself to say no, but he was scared to say yes.

“We have to know if you want to be adopted by us, if you want us to be your fathers.” Tony added to the pressure.

Peter was frozen. Steve and Tony would be great parents, but he didn't want to hurt them.

“You don't have to be afraid Peter,” Steve told him.

“But I am,” he whispered back. A few tears rolled down his cheeks.

“This is a safe place, Peter. I got the best security system out there. Plus, Captain freaking America lives here!” Tony tried to comfort Peter.

He smiled a bit and wiped his face.

“We know a lot of bad stuff happened to you, but you don't have to worry anymore. We'll protect you, and you won't hurt us. And maybe you can be happy, too.”

Peter really believed what Tony said. If he was adopted, he would have a family again, and the tower was the safest place he could think of. Maybe if he was adopted, he could put his past behind him and just be happy with his dads.

Peter nodded. “Okay, yeah. I want to be adopted.” He smiled as Steve and Tony came over and gave him a big hug. They looked so happy.

“Well, I have no clue how long the adoption process takes, but we're gonna get started right away,” Steve told him.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

 

* * *

 

Later that day, Alex picked him up from the tower. He was very happy to hear that Peter was ready to be adopted.

“No turning back now,” he joked and laughed. Peter rolled his eyes and smiled a little. Then Alex got serious and explained what Peter would need to know about being adopted.

“You're going to have to behave now. I can't have you switching houses every week. And you're going to be switching schools again, which I'm sure you're used to, but this new school you're going to be at for the next 3 years, so _make friends_.”

Peter frowned. He wasn't sure he'd be able to make any new friends, even if he'd be at this school permanently. He still wasn't over what happened to Gwen.

He continued to listen as Alex explained everything until they got back to his current foster home.

“Hey, I'm serious about the behaving thing, Peter,” Alex warned him again.

“I know. I'll do my best,” he promised, knowing it would be hell to stay here for however long it would be until he was adopted. He was willing to bear it, though, because he knew it would pay off. Soon he'd be living with Steve and Tony in the Avengers Tower and everything would be okay.

That's what he'd tell himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two quick questions. One, what should Peter call Steve and Tony? (Ex. Dad, Pops, Father, etc.) Two, who should else should I add for Peter to meet at his new school? I already have a few people planned like Deadpool, but I want to know who you guys think should be added. Thanks.


	6. New Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been forever people! Sorry for not posting anything for so long. I promise that I won't disappear for like 7 months again. Anyway, enjoy the chapter and there's some important notes at the end.

Peter was miserably stuck in his current foster home for almost another month. They didn't like him much there, but he never gave them a reason to kick him out. He just wanted to be with Steve and Tony in the Avengers Tower; he really missed them.

The longer he waited, the more he doubted himself. He wondered if they changed their minds and he was waiting for something that was never going to happen. He tried to remind himself stuff like this takes a while, but his life was already full of so much disappointment he couldn’t be sure.

The beginning of October came and Peter continued to lose hope. He was convinced Steve and Tony changed their minds about him. And he was so convinced of this that when Alex showed up at his foster house one day, he automatically thought Alex was coming to tell him that Steve and Tony changed their minds. He braced himself for bad news, but he never got it.

“Guess what, Peter? You’ve officially been adopted!” Alex shouted enthusiastically.

“What?” Peter blurted out in shock. He nearly fell over, but he caught himself and quickly sat down on his bed.

He was adopted. He had a family.

He began to cry, and Alex looked a bit worried. Peter was crying for so many reasons. He had a family, but he also had a family. Peter wasn’t sure he was ready for this.

“Peter… I thought you’d be more happy,” he softly stated.

Peter willed himself to stop crying. He was happy, but he was also sad, and angry, and scared, and a million other things. It was too much to handle in one moment.

He eventually did stop crying. He wiped the tears from his cheeks and sniffled.

“I’m sorry. I’m a bit overwhelmed right now,” Peter apologized and took a deep breath to calm himself.

“It’s alright. I understand, but now it’s time to start packing. Your dads are waiting for you.” Alex smiled.

His dads. That would take a while to get used to.

 

* * *

 

Peter managed to keep himself together while packing and on the car ride to the Avengers Tower, but once he got there and saw Steve and Tony, he lost it again. They immediately pulled him into a tight hug.

Peter felt something in their embrace he hadn’t felt in a long time. He felt loved. It reminded him of distant memories of his parents holding him and kissing him before putting him to bed, and how his aunt and uncle started doing that too after his parents’ death. He became overwhelmed with emotions, mostly good ones, in fact, he couldn’t even remember the last time he felt this happy.

He stopped crying when they let go of him, but he was still very emotional. This was a big moment for him.

“Sorry to interrupt,” Alex called out, “Peter, I just want to say that this will probably be the last time we see each other, so I’d like to wish you the best and remind you that you do deserve to be happy.”

Peter ran over and gave Alex a big hug. It would be sad to not see Alex again. He was always there for Peter. He was the reason Peter was still alive right now. Most importantly, he never gave up on Peter, and he was so grateful for that.

“Thank you so much, for everything. I’ll miss you.” He released Alex and chuckled.

“One last thing though,” Alex turned to Steve and Tony, “I suggest you get Peter set up with a therapist. He used to see one when he was younger, but he hasn't been able to for a while, and think it would be good for him.”

They both nodded. “Bye Peter,” he finally said before handing Steve Peter’s bag and waving goodbye.

Peter felt sad watching him drive away. He was saying goodbye to a big part of his life. A lot was about to change. He turned towards his parents.

“Well, are you ready to officially move in?” Tony asked and shuffled excitedly.

“Definitely,” he responded with enthusiasm that matched Steve and Tony’s as he followed them inside.

Walking in the tower knowing it was now his home felt so much different than last time he was here. He felt so comfortable and safe.

During the ride up the elevator, he could tell there was something going on with Tony. He kept fidgeting. Since he didn’t know Tony that well, he just shrugged it off.

When the elevator door opened, they were greeted by balloons, confetti, and the rest of the Avengers.

“Congratulations, Peter!” they all shouted. Peter gasped and covered his mouth. There was so much love for him and he felt overjoyed.

“We wanted you to have a special homecoming,” Steve explained.

“Especially since you had to wait so long,” Tony finished.

“Thank you all so much,” Peter whispered while he teared up.

He ran up to each superhero and gave them a big hug, which they all happily returned.

Peter felt like he was finally home. Finally, after so many years of drifting around. Finally, after not having a family or anyone he could love. Finally, he felt safe.

 

* * *

 

That was officially the best party Peter's even been to (not that he's actually been to many). Now he was unpacking the few things he had. His room was pretty bland, but it was his.

He laid down on bed once everything was in its new home. He stared at the ceiling and thought of Gwen. His life was great, but it would never be perfect if she wasn't in it. He wished he could've saved her.

There was a light knock on Peter's door before Steve stepped into the room. Peter sat up and looked over at his dad.

“Hey, got everything set up? Do you need anything?” Steve asked as he glanced around the room.

“I don't know.”

“You don't need any new clothes or school supplies or anything?” Steve leaned against the doorway.

Peter dreaded the thought of school. School already sucked, but knowing he'd be there permanently, and not just a month or two, made it worse. He really wished he'd at least be going to a decent school, and with Tony Stark as his father, he'd probably get that wish.

“You know you don't have to worry about being greedy. We can get you pretty much anything you'd need, or want,” Steve reassured him after he hesitated to speak.

“Well I guess I could use some new clothes and a new backpack,” he finally replied.

“Okay,” Steve smiled, “We can take you shopping tomorrow if you'd like.”

“I'll have to see if I'm free,” Peter sarcastically replied and flopped back down on his bed.

Steve smirked, “Alright, let me know then.”

Peter heard some shuffling before the door shut and he was alone again.

 

* * *

 

Peter joined his fathers for dinner later. Steve was cooking on the stove and Tony sat on the counter beside him. Tony seemed particularly excited to see him. He hopped off the counter and called Peter over as soon as he walked into the kitchen.

“Peter! Come here!”

“What is it?” he asked as he walked over.

“Ta-da!” Tony cheered as held a smartphone in his hand. Peter gave him a confused look. He sighed.

“This is the very first Stark Phone. And it's all yours! You can do just about anything with it; listen to music, play games, take pictures, text, etc. It even has its own custom AI, RAIN.”

Peter giggled, “RAIN?”

“Random Artificial Intelligence Name. Listen, she needed a name and I didn't have a lot of time. You try coming up with AI names.”

“Oh, it's a girl this time?” Steve teased, still focused on cooking.

“Technically, she's agender, but I guess you could say she's a girl. It doesn't matter, though. She's an AI,” he replied pointedly to his husband.

“What do I need a phone for anyway?” Peter butt-in, “It's not like I have friends to text, and you already gave me a computer.”

Steve turned his head slightly and made a somewhat disappointed face. “Well, you might make friends in the future, and even if you don't, you can always text us. I may not look tech-savvy, but I can use a phone.”

Tony rolled his eyes. “Steve, you're practically a dinosaur. I'm surprised you know to use a light switch.”

Steve turned around and put his hands on his hips. “There was electricity in the 40s. How do you think they made me Captain America?”

Tony shrugged, “Fancy steroids?”

Steve scoffed and turned back to his cooking. “I may be older than you, but I look younger,” he shot back jokingly.

Peter giggled while Tony gasped. “Low blow, Steve.”

Steve laughed and shook his head. “Go set up the table you two,” he commanded.

Tony saluted him before grabbing plates and heading to the table. Peter followed him with silverware, slightly giggling still.

 

* * *

 

After dinner, Peter was ready to head off to his room again, but his fathers stopped him.

“Alright, Peter, it's time to talk about school,” Tony warned him.

Peter groaned. School was not his favorite subject. He felt like he'd be fine if he didn't go to school. He was smart enough to survive. Also isn't he technically a billionaire now?

“Don't worry. We've already picked out some great schools,” Steve reassured.

He was handed a bunch information on a bunch of fancy private schools. He frowned slightly. If he was going to school, he wanted to go to public school.

“Why aren't there any public schools here?” he questioned.

“You'd be safer at a private school. They'd keep your identity a secret and you could be a normal kid,” Tony explained, trying to convince Peter that's what was best for him.

Peter frowned again. He really didn't like the thought of private school. All the kids were usually rich and stuck up, at least in his experience.

“I really want to go to public school, though.”

Tony looked like he wanted to try some more convincing, but Steve interrupted.

“If he wants to go to public school, then we should let him. We want him to be comfortable at school. And we can always talk to the school to make sure his identity stays hidden.”

Tony considered it. Peter knew he probably just wanted him to get the best education possible.

Tony sighed defeatedly. “Alright. You can go to public school. I'll do some research and find a good one. And you'll be starting as soon as possible.”

Peter groaned, “Can't I just stay at home for a while?”

Steve chuckled. “Now he sounds like a real teenager.”

“You're going as soon as possible. We’ll get your supplies tomorrow, and we can take you clothes shopping as well if you want,” Tony offered.

Peter groaned but agreed. School was necessary and he knew it.

Steve cleared his throat and looked over at his husband. “Uh, Tony, shouldn't we deal with the name situation before school?” He asked.

“Name situation?” Peter was confused.

“Oh yeah.” Tony remembered and turned towards his son. “Well, as you know, your legal name is Peter Parker, and since you're a part of our family now, we were curious if you wanted to change your last name to match ours.”

Peter was shocked by this. He hadn't given any thought to his name. He certainly didn't think his parents would ask him if he wanted it changed.

“It's okay if you don't want it changed, too,” Steve reassured him.

Peter wasn't quite sure what he wanted. On one hand, he felt like his last name was the last connection he had to his old family. On the other hand, he wanted to be connected to his new family.

Peter tried to come up with some response, but he just remained silent. He felt like he might disappoint his dads if he kept his name, but he wasn't sure if he was ready for a new one.

“I-I don't know. That's a difficult choice,” he finally confessed.

“You know we don't want you to forget about your old family, right? They were a big part of your life and you don't have to feel like you need to erase them to be a part of this family. We love you, Peter,” Tony comforted.

Peter smiled and hugged his dads. He knew that they truly meant those words.

He suddenly had a great idea. “Can we do a compromise?” he asked.

“What do you mean by ‘compromise’?” Steve responded.

“We can change my name to Peter Parker Rogers-Stark. Parker doesn't really sound like a last name anyway.”

They both smiled at him. “That sounds perfect,” Steve told him and hugged him again.

 

* * *

 

It was shopping time and Peter was struggling to not laugh at his fathers’ appearances. They were trying to hard to hide their identities and look casual, except it's hard to look casual when you're built like Captain America and wearing a tight t-shirt, or when your idea of a disguise is a hoodie and sunglasses. It worked well enough for them, though. They got through their shopping trip without being recognized, and successfully getting everything they needed.

Their next stop for the day was to go get Peter's name legally changed. Peter felt oddly excited about it. That excitement quickly faded away once they got to the courthouse. It was a lot of waiting in lines and filling out paperwork. After all that, they had to come back in a week for a name change hearing. He thought they could do it all in one day, but apparently not.

It wasn't a big deal though. He was already a Rogers-Stark.

* * *

 

Peter got home from his big day out and decided to organize his room. He had a lot of clothes to put away, school supplies to organize, and few other random things for his room. It was starting to feel more like home.

After everything was sorted out, Peter flopped down onto his bed and pulled out his phone. This was the first time he actually used the thing. It was pretty useful. RAIN (he still thought the name was funny, but hey, he couldn't come up with a better one) could answer any stupid question he had. He downloaded plenty of games and music to entertain him when he was bored or didn't want to be left alone with his thoughts.

Life actually seemed pretty great for Peter right now. He wondered how long that would last. Something always went wrong. He guessed something would probably happen at school and he'd absolutely hate spending the next 3 years there.

He groaned internally and tossed his phone towards the end of his bed. He always got in his own head and he had no clue why. Life was good for once and he should just be enjoying it, yet here he was, trying to figure out how it was going to get ruined.

Maybe, for once, things will work out and he could actually be happy. Of course, he still had mental issues to deal with, but he finally had a family and a stable home. That's pretty much all he wanted since he was a kid. He needed to focus on the good things in life because they were rare, and stressing out over the bad things just ruined the good things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys. So I created [a tumblr](https://boom-its-chris.tumblr.com/) recently.
> 
> I will be posting sneak peaks for new chapters and new fics on there, and only there. You guys are also free to ask me questions about any of my stories or really anything on there. You can also send me prompts and characters to write about if you want. So please go check it out.
> 
> New chapter coming soon!


	7. Officially Family

_Peter felt small. He was on the floor under a table. He didn't remember how he got here. He didn't know where he was either. This place felt familiar, yet different at the same time._

_He could hear footsteps around him but they sounded far away and muted. He looked around and tried to find the feet making those sounds, but there were none. He was all alone._

_Where was he?_

_He tried to crawl out from under the table, but it just kept growing and growing so he remained trapped under it._

_What's going on?_

_He tried to call out to someone, anyone, but nothing came out. He started to feel trapped. He was lost, confused, and kinda scared. Something was wrong._

_Suddenly, a spider crawled under the table. Something about this moment felt very familiar, almost like it happened before._

_The spider disappeared without a warning, and so did the table. He was in a white room now. It was silent._

_Peter stood up, but a black hole appeared below him and began swallowing up the room, Peter included._

_He tried to do something, like crawl out of the growing darkness, but it just swallowed him up easily._

_Everything was black and then..._

He woke up. He was in his bed, in his room. It was night time. He looked around, just to make sure he was actually in his room. Everything seemed normal.

“What the fuck,” he whispered to himself, just now thinking about how odd his dream was.

His dream felt very similar to an early memory he had. He didn't know why he was having dreams of his parents all of a sudden. Sure, he thought about them sometimes, but he didn't dream about them. Was the dream supposed to mean something?

Peter was starting to feel stressed out. He didn't want to be reminded of the deaths he caused.

He got up and decided to get out of his room for a bit. He walked into the hallway connected to his room and he heard voices and laughter coming from the kitchen.

He slowly walked in and found Tony, with his back to him, talking and drinking wine with some woman. She saw him and smiled.

“Is this Peter?” she excitedly asked Tony.

Tony turned around and was a bit surprised to see him, but still smiled. Peter thought he might be upset to see him up so late, but apparently not.

“Yeah. Come here, Peter. Meet Pepper Potts.”

Peter awkwardly walked over and sat down beside his father.

“So, this is Pepper. She’s super smart, runs my company, she’s one of my best friends, and just an awesome person overall.”

Pepper smiled. “Thank you, Tony. You're very kind.” Then she turned to Peter. “Well, it's so nice to finally meet you. Tony has been telling me about you since you first visited.”

Peter looked over at Tony, surprised.

“Really?” he asked curiously.

Tony blushed slightly and took a sip from his glass to hide it, unsuccessfully though.

“Well, yeah. I was very excited about being a dad and getting to adopt you,” he confessed.

Peter felt very touched by what Tony said. He never realized how much they wanted him. He felt very loved in this moment. He hugged his dad, tightly.

“Aw! How sweet!” Pepper exclaimed. Peter blushed this time and released his dad.

“Ok, well it's definitely late, and I have a meeting in the morning, so I think it's time to go,” Pepper said while standing up and silently pushing in her chair, “Bye Tony. Again, nice meeting you Peter.” She waved at them both before heading towards the elevator. Peter and Tony both waved back at her.

After she left, Tony turned to Peter. “So, whatcha doing up, kid?”

Peter wasn't sure if he should lie or not. He didn't particularly like talking to people about his dreams and nightmares, not that anyone really cared to ask about them before.

“I don't know,” he weakly replied and looked down at the table in front of the two of them.

“Is something wrong? You know you can talk to me, right? Or if you prefer, Steve.” Tony sounded just like a concerned dad.

Peter shrugged his shoulders. “I'm fine. I don't feel like talking about it.”

Tony looked at him for a minute before deciding to give up. “Alright. If you do wanna talk, you know where my room is. And don't worry about waking me up, I barely sleep anyway.”

Peter smiled. It felt really nice to have a concerned, loving, but not pushy, parent.

Tony ruffled Peter's hair as he downed the rest of his drink. He set the glass back down on the table and then headed towards the hallway.

“Oh, and don't stay up too late, kid. We've got your hearing in the morning,” Tony reminded him.

Peter nodded silently. He was happy about the hearing, but he knew school would come next, and that stressed him the hell out.

He heard the sound of a door closing a moment later and he knew he was all alone now. He was kind of regretting not talking to Tony. The dream about his parents brought up a lot of unwanted and confusing emotions, but he had a hard time opening up to people, especially about his parents. He just felt terrible right now and he wished he could sleep.

Peter rested his head on the table and sighed. He was now staring at the wine bottle Tony and Pepper had been drinking earlier. He was tempted to steal it, take it back to his room, and down it, but he resisted. That was something he would do back when he was a foster kid with a horrible life. He had a family now and he wanted to be better.

‘I need to open up to my dads to truly “be better,’ Peter thought to himself.

He got up from the table and started walking down the hallway towards his dads’ room. He paused halfway there, though. He knew Tony wouldn’t be upset if came to talk to him, but Peter just didn’t think he was ready to get that personal yet. His dreams were some of the most personal things about him.

He gave up and went back to his room. He was gonna try to get a little bit of sleep before their hearing in the morning.

 

* * *

 

Peter held the piece of paper in his hands. He was now officially named Peter Parker Rogers-Stark. It almost felt unreal. The whole situation almost felt unreal, too, but here he was, standing between his dads on the elevator up to their home at the top of the Avengers Tower.

“How do you feel, kid?” Tony asked, pulling Peter out of his thoughts.

“I don’t know. This is all kinda crazy.”

“Well, we’re glad you have our last name.” Steve smiled down at him. Peter smiled back. It felt permanent now, like there’s no going back. He’s officially a Rogers-Stark.

“You know what’s next right?”

Peter groaned, “School.”

Tony laughed as the elevator doors open. He followed his dads to the kitchen. They all sat down at the table.

“Again, do I really need school?” Peter asked, “I could just stay here and you could teach me. And then I could work for you. I really wouldn’t even need school then.”

“You’re going to school,” Steve replied sternly.

Peter sighed. “At least tell me you picked a good school.”

Tony smiled. “Actually, I found one that I think you’ll like. It’s called Marvel High. It’s not too far from the tower, it’s a public school like you wanted, and it offers a high quality education.”

Peter wasn’t thrilled about going back to school but it did sound nice. He’s been to a bunch of schools before, and none of them he liked. There some that were small and offered no classes that were challenging enough, and there were some that just had the worst people. This is the best Peter could’ve hoped for.

“When do I start?” Peter hoped it wouldn’t be soon.

“Well, you can start tomorrow if I go drop the paperwork off this afternoon.”

Peter jumped out of his seat, surprising both Steve as Tony.

“I don’t wanna start tomorrow!”

“Woah, calm down, Pete.” Steve placed a hand on his shoulder. Peter sighed and sat back down.

“You can’t put this off forever,” Tony warned.

“I know, I know. I’m just not thrilled about going back. Can I have another day to relax here before going back to school? Please?” He begged his dads.

Steve and Tony glanced at each other. They silently debated it for a moment before Tony gave the final verdict.

“Alright, fine. You can have an extra day before going back.”

Peter jumped out of his chair again, but this time due to excitement.

“Thank you! I love you guys!” He cheered before running off to his room.

Steve and Tony looked at each other in shock.

“Did he just say he loved us?” Steve asked in disbelief.

“Yeah,” Tony replied with a huge grin. “I guess we’re good dads then.”

Steve smiled and hugged his husband tightly. It made him so happy to hear that Peter loved them. They of course loved him, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey. I know it been forever but I forced myself to write a new chapter for you guys. I’ve also decided for the holidays I’m gonna 2 more chapters over the next 2 days for you guys so enjoy.
> 
> Also check out [my tumblr](https://boom-its-chris.tumblr.com/) for sneak peaks and more!


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